Abortion (“Roe V. Wade”)

Abortion is a choice that many women find hard to make. It is understandable. But if a woman decides that she wants an abortion, there should be a safe place she can go to receive one. Why is it that people who are not even pregnant are trying to make a decision for those who are? Is it because it interferes with their religious or beliefs? Or is there some other unknown reason? Whatever the reason, it is their choice. I believe that the woman trying to receive an abortion should have the opportunity to choose too.

Before the Roe Vs. Wade case, abortion was illegal. Women interested in getting an abortion were forced to go against the law and risk the chance of getting themselves and the doctors arrested (Morton). The Supreme Court ruled that any state in the United States could restrict an abortion only in the last three months of the pregnancy. The last three months, as proven by doctors, is when the fetus can live a “meaningful life” outside the womb (“Roe v. Wade”). Of course the case was well debated even after its ruling.

Mainly by religious groups, such as the Roman Catholic Church, believe abortion is murder. But some groups, such as many Protestant Churches, supported the result pointing out that many unwanted children sometimes live a life of abuse and neglect (“Roe v. Wade”). Then again, it was not only religious groups that attacked the court. Many republicans also apposed the ruling. On the other hand the democrats supported it (“Roe v. Wade”) In 1940 till 1972, 2,532 women died from illegal abortions (Deaths from Legal and Illegal Abortions”).

Compare this to the 68 deaths that occurred after abortion was legalized. Is abortion murder? According to Merriam Webster’s dictionary, murder is defined as: murder: (n) the crime of unlawfully killing a person especially with malice aforethought Abortion is not a crime. It is a right and is usually not done with malicious intent. I am not saying abortion should be used often or used as a form of birth control, but if there is an unwanted fetus I think women have the right to abort it. Some people cannot help getting pregnant.

Take victims of rape for example, statistics say that one in every six women is raped (“Who are The Victims”). It is estimated that 32,000 rape related pregnancies happen each year. Think about how 2/3 of rapes are committed by someone known to the victim, and 7% are committed by family members (” The Rapist isn’t a Masked Stranger. “). Can you imagine going through life with a child whose father raped you? There is also the case of the women living in poverty. What kind of life is that for a child? Not knowing when they are going to receive their next meal.

Some cannot even learn to read and write. Unplanned parenthood in these conditions not only affects the mother in that she has to care for a new born instead of working, but also affects the child that now has to grow up on the streets or without food. Here is another scenario: imagine that a women goes in for an ultrasound and finds out that her child is going to come out brain dead or non-functioning. Would you want to put the mother through the pain of labor to come out with a child that cannot live on its own?

I am not saying that if a mother finds out that her child is mentally handicapped that she should abort it. I am actually against that. If a child cannot live outside the womb, is that a ” meaningful life”? A woman has a right to do what she wants with her own body. It is protected under the constitution. Women have the right to life, privacy, and liberty. The freedom of religion and one’s beliefs do not mean that they can push those beliefs on someone else. They too also have the right to their own beliefs. So not only is abortion a moral issue, but it’s a constitutional issue also.

The Bill of Rights respects a women’s right to make her own decisions about her body. Women’s rights are the same as men’s rights and in turn are human rights (Ball). So when do we call a cell a fetus, and a fetus a baby? It is in my opinion that until the fetus has a heart beat and brain activity it is not a baby. Going back to the definition of murder it says that murder involves a person and if something has no heart beat and no brain activity it is not a person. According to doctors a baby is fully developed the last three months of a pregnancy (Morton).

If you waited till the last minute to get an abortion, I say you are out of luck because that fetus is now a living thing, and an abortion is now murder. Partial-birth abortion is not something I agree with. When you get a partial-birth abortion you are committing murder because the baby is alive. It has function, brain activity, and a heartbeat. Lets leave the decision of aborting a fetus up to the mother. They have the right to choose what to do, just as you have the right to choose to be against it. We all have something called human rights. So can’t we all just make our own choices and let other people make theirs?

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